An electronic system usually includes multiple electronic devices. Different devices are configured to perform different operations. At one given moment, some devices may operate at a high speed and therefore consume more power than some other devices that are in a sleep mode. Similarly, a specific device may perform more operations at one moment and therefore burn more energy than it does at a different moment. Other factors such as manufacturing process variations, environmental temperature variations, or even aging differences between device components may also result in a variation of power consumption for different devices at the same moment and for the same device at different moments. As a result, both the system and an individual device may have a dynamic power supply requirement.
On the other hand, it is quite common that various devices in a conventional electronic system are powered by very few or just a single static power supply. In this case, to ensure that the entire system operates appropriately even under worst scenario, many devices consume more power than necessary. Additionally, manufacturing or temperature variations can result in device performance which far exceeds the requirements of the system. In such cases the power supply could be reduced and the devices would still be able to meet system performance needs while consuming less power.
This power wasting problem is further complicated for a system-in-package (SIP) configuration. SIP has the benefit of providing low-cost interconnects between semiconductor chips within the same package. But the increased power density associated with the unnecessary power consumption may cause a device or system overheat, which severely limits the number of chips that can be assembled into a single package.
Therefore, there is a need for optimizing an electronic device's power supply without the aforementioned problems.